“Half the time I didn’t know where I was. I remember trying to find a place to sleep on the street in between alleys. Just a lady and a shopping cart…a drunk on the street…It’s just amazing how my life has changed, and if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.” – Helen, Coeur d’Alene
Photo by James Bishop
“I love to bake, and I love coffee, so I’ve always thought opening a coffee shop would be really cool. A coffee shop with a bakery. My daughter has celiac, and I do know in Coeur d’Alene there aren’t a lot of gluten free bakery choices.” – Kimberly, at the UGM College and Career Conference
“I’m amazed every day by what God’s doing. He’s healing me, and because I’m getting better, my son is getting better.” – Starla, graduate of Union Gospel Mission’s LIFE Recovery in Coeur d’Alene
“I was always tough and angry, just real rough around the edges, and the enemy still tries to lie to me and tell me that I’ll never be elegant because of my tattoos, but that’s not true. People tell me all the time, ‘You’re softening right before our eyes.’…I’m unique and special just the way I am. I’m a good mother. I’m a faithful friend. I’m a daughter of the King.” – Starla, graduate of Union Gospel Mission’s LIFE Recovery in Coeur d’Alene
“While I was pregnant, we were living in Spokane, and during that time, I was flying a sign (panhandling). I was sleeping under bridges, and my boyfriend would stay up while I was sleeping to make sure nothing happened to me.
“We have three meals a day here, and I know I have a warm place for me and my son, a safe place, and I think that’s what the important thing is.
“When I came here to UGM, I learned that God is a loving God. He is a forgiving God, and He is full of grace. He has given us a second chance.” – Michelle, UGM Center for Women & Children, Coeur d’Alene
“I wasn’t happy with myself…So I tried to fill that void with drugs. Drugs were just a symptom. When you’re using drugs, it shows something [is wrong]. If this place wasn’t here, I don’t know what would’ve happened to me…I wouldn’t be who I am today. It brings you to another level in life, one that you don’t even know exists.” – Amanda, Center for Women & Children resident